British Airways Gatwick First lounge to close at 3pm …. and permanently from November?

In what amounts to another slap in the face for British Airways Executive Club Gold card holders, British Airways announced yesterday that the First Class lounge at Gatwick Airport will now be closing from 3pm daily.

The rationale for this is that this is the departure time for the last flight of the day which has a First Class cabin.

Gold card holders will need to use the Terraces lounge next door from 3pm.  BA has said that additional seating will be installed in the lounge, although that will be ‘at a later date’ and not in time for the introduction of 3pm closing on April 13th.

As a very marginal piece of compensation, sandwiches will be made available until 8pm in the Terraces lounges.  Apparently they are now removed at 6pm leaving no fresh food at all.  Bacons rolls will also be available until 9.30am.

In theory, you may expect me to be annoyed by this.  However, as I wrote last year when I was in the First Class lounge at Gatwick, it is a complete dump.  On that occasion I walked out and used my Priority Pass to visit the No 1 Traveller lounge downstairs, which is an oasis by contrast.  Some photos from No 1 Traveller at Gatwick North are in this article.

There is also a rumour going around on Flyertalk that the First lounge at Gatwick will be closed entirely in November 2015.  In November 2016, British Airways will move to the South Terminal and that will have only one lounge with no dedicated First / Gold facility at all.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (June 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 on the FREE standard card and 1 Avios per £1 on the Pro card. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.